Culinary ramblings of a mischievous cook. Recipes,pictures,diary entries and all things foodie.Follow a journey of life in the east Algarve, Portugal...

Tuesday, 19 April 2011

Pod peas, live longer

The first crop of fava beans

Don´t be afraid of the time it takes to pod peas or beans, or dread the prospect. Look forward to it as a relaxing meditative pause in your day.If you are tired and stressed, start podding, and after a while you´ll feel much calmer and you won´t have to put on that sad old meditation tape to unwind! If the dish you are preparing is a simple one, such as pasta with fresh broad beans, you´ll actually be relaxed enough to enjoy the meal.Well it worked for me. Yesterday I was getting my knickers in a twist over trying to translate into English the Portuguese copy for our next newsletter.I just wasn´t getting anywhere with it, it was all too literal and I started getting very crabby,perhaps I needed a Crabbies or something spiffingly refreshing and tickety boo tasty.Solution - I popped up to the kitchen garden and gathered a kilo of Favas. Yes my prayers had been answered. The Our Favas I said on the 28th November last year had made the garden full of beans.So with trug upon arm I returned to the kitchen table and started my therapeutic podding.Twenty minutes later with a bowl of vibrant green pulses I started to prepare dinner -Risotto primavera, an easy choice as I always enjoy cooking a risotto.Some may say its time intensive but the benefits that are gained from stirring your stress away outweigh everything.....and the combination of fava beans and freshly grated or shaved pecorino -say no more.

Shell and rinse the beans. Fry the pancetta shallots and garlic in the butter and oil until lightly colored, then stir in the parsley, beans and just enough hot stock to barely cover the ingredients. Simmer gently for two minutes.Add the rice, wine and some pepper, and stir to coat the rice with this mixture, using a wooden spoon.Now add the stock ladleful by ladleful, stirring well between each addition, until all the stock has been absorbed and the rice is creamy. This should take about 20 minutes. Stir in some salt, then the mint and pecorino. Serve on warm plates topped with extra shavings of pecorino.

About Me

I´m a self-taught cook.From my childhood in Scotland through growing up in South East England, my mother was my formative influence. Holidays in Europe, America,Africa and Scandinavia fed me with culinary inspiration. Fifteen years of holidaying in Tavira, led me to up roots and follow the dream to live in Portugal. Here in Castro Marim we run a small guest house, Casa Rosada.Relocation has opened my eyes and taste buds to how recipes and their ingredients can change and develop when incorporated into another country´s food culture and how foreigners like myself adapt the local dishes,bringing a new slant to them.In the last three years I have been researching and cooking traditional Portugueses dishes and then inventing a modern twist to them. I´ve started this food blog so I can share new recipes and a slice of Algarvian life here at Casa Rosada here in Castro Marim.